Regress to Make Progress

When starting out in a new sport, whether it may be weightlifting or snowboarding, it’s easy to look at what the most elite athletes are doing and say to yourself, “I want to do that!” You may see Shaun White doing a backflip at the Sochi Winter Olympics, and immediately look for the nearest mountain to go and replicate it. While I applaud your determination, mastery of any sport takes time, and it is important to appreciate the process. Sometimes, it is more important to practice regressions as opposed to progressions.

I believe that CrossFit has facilitated this pseudo-mastery of movement. As a CrossFit coach, I see people trying to rush to try tricks that they’re not quite ready to do. Introduce the ever-elusive muscle-up, and everyone will jump onto the rings to try it for themselves. I know the muscle-up looks like a fun party trick, but there’s a necessary foundation of strength that one must possess to execute it safely and efficiently. For example, some of the fundamental movements one should have mastered before even attempting a muscle-up include the freestanding handstand (for basic shoulder stability), the kip (to learn how to navigate your center of mass), the pull-up (to get your body over the rings), and the ring dip (to press yourself up at the top). If you are not comfortable with these four movements, then frankly you have no business trying to hurl yourself over the rings into a muscle-up.

Olympic movements are no different. I don’t want to see you attempt to PR your snatch until your overhead squat looks immaculate. I don’t want to see you throw 135 lbs onto your overhead squat if you can’t even squat the PVC. When I see that you can support a weight overhead in a controlled fashion, then you are ready to dive into a dynamic, explosive movement like the snatch. I see far too many people with horrible overhead stability trying to snatch 215 lbs because they want to look like Jason Khalipa. I’m not saying you can’t and won’t get there, but you absolutely have to lay the groundwork first.

In my opinion, one of the biggest causes of injury is ego. Just because you think you’re strong, doesn’t mean your body is ready for these complex Olympic lifts or gymnastics skills! There is a difference between brute strength and motor control. One allows you to lift heavy things, while the other allows you to do so with finesse. I’m not impressed if you pick up a 520 lbs deadlift with a rounded back right off of the floor. Show me that you can do it with control, maintaining a good position throughout and you’ve got my attention!

You'll get here...I promise.

In the greater scheme of things, quality of movement is far more important than how much weight you can move. I know that you want to lift big weights--we all do. Strength, however, takes time and a ton of repetition at more manageable weights. Just because you’ve decided you want to squat four plates doesn’t mean that your body is ready for that yet. If you’re flopping around on the rings like a dead fish trying to get your first muscle-up, you need to take a step back and reevaluate your strategy. Once you’ve learned how to properly maneuver your center of mass with ease, then, and only then, are you prepared to practice your muscle-ups.

I’ve been down that road myself. I would watch strong athletes and dream of getting to that level. The result was me overworking my body and stunting my own progress, rather than moving forward and getting stronger. Now, I’ve started to regulate myself. I only lift weights that I know I can control, and if I miss a lift, I go down in weight rather than trying it over and over again. The payoff has been huge, I miss fewer lifts, and my body is thanking me everyday.

We have to remember that all of these elite athletes that we see on television have had a lot of time to practice. Shaun White certainly didn’t learn these intricate movements in a month or even a year--he’s had years and years of practice, refining technique and he’s also had the help of experts to watch him and help him perfect his movement. Camille Leblanc-Bazinet was a competitive gymnast her entire life, and she’s been competing in CrossFit competitions for more than five years. You have to remember that you can’t become an elite athlete overnight. If you’re willing to dedicate the time and effort to the little things, you will, one day perfect the most challenging movements.

I urge you to slow down and take baby steps; focus on the details of every movement in the gym; try to be objective about your own performance, and ask yourself questions like, “Can I do this with control?” or, “Did that look sloppy?” If it looks sloppy, take some weight off of the bar and try it again.

I understand that it’s easy to want to rush into these complex, impressive tricks, but you have to trust the process. I promise you will be able to do them eventually. In the meantime, however, you need to make sure you set yourself up to get there; adequate strength, stability, mobility and motor control are crucial pieces of the puzzle to executing the more nuanced movements. I assure you that if you pay attention to the regressions instead of rushing into the progressions, you will be at a lower risk of injury, and you will be better prepared for the progressions when you’re ready!

I love to finish off my blog posts with a great quote: “Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.”

Make sure you're practicing "perfect."